Joe Pugh

The work of Black Canadian poets George Elliot Clarke, Dionne Brand, M Nourbese Philip, and Wayde Compton, as well as rapper K’naan, is in the spotlight in a new book from VIU professor Paul Watkins. Called Soundin’ Canaan, in the book, Watkins takes what he describes as a DJ approach to analyzing works of Black Canadian poetry as forms of social, ethical, and political expression. Watkins paid a visit to the CHLY studio to speak about the work.

It was a banner year for the Vancouver Island Marmot. There were more marmots recorded in the wild than at any time since their population started being tracked in the 1980s. The wild marmot population is mainly centered around two areas, Strathcona Park and Nanaimo Lakes. The Marmot Recovery foundation is a non profit founded in 1999 with the goal of restoring the wild population of the Vancouver Island Marmot, their work includes captive breeding programs and habitat restoration efforts. The organization’s executive director and head veterinarian joined Midcoast Morning to break down the latest on B.C.’s only endemic mammal species.

Community members are gathering downtown this afternoon to honour the lives of of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. The No More Stolen Sisters March begins at Diana Krall Plaza at 3:30. Starting in 1992 memorial marches have been held in communities across the country each year on February 14th. The event originated as a memorial march for Cheryl Anne Joe, a mother of three from Sechelt who was murdered that year in Vancouver. Leah Vaisanen is organizing the march in Nanaimo. Monique May is organizing a march this Sunday in Victoria. She’ll also be in attendance Friday in Nanaimo. Both of them spoke with Midcoast Morning about the march, and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

University of Vermont professor Kim Coleman is hitting the mountain biking trails of Vancouver Island. But she’s not here on vacation. Coleman is visiting Vancouver Island University for the spring semester as a Fulbright Canada Research Chair. She’s studying how communities manage outdoor recreation, comparing examples on the island with some she’s studied back in New England. Coleman visited the CHLY studio to talk about how communities change when mountain biking goes

Christine Meutzner says when she’s driving around Nanaimo, she sees all the buildings that have come and gone throughout the years. After close to 30 years at the Nanaimo Archives, Meutzner is heading into retirement. The archives are a non-profit society dedicated to acquiring, preserving and providing public access to the historical records of the Nanaimo region. Members of the public can do on site research by appointment at their building located at 60 Wharf Street. Meutzner stopped by the CHLY studio to share some stories from the city’s past.

Ladysmith’s acting mayor says in her opinion, an increasing lack of civility online is the community’s greatest challenge. Voters in Ladysmith are getting set to elect a new mayor in a by-election March 1. There are currently five candidates in the race to replace Aaron Stone, who stepped down last year to take a role as CEO of the South Island Prosperity Partnership, an economic development alliance serving the greater Victoria region. Tricia McKay has been serving as acting Mayor in the interim, Midcoast Morning spoke with her about the political context in the community ahead of the by-election In addition to issues with how she feels online discourse has evolved in the last number of years, McKay also cited challenges getting new commercial space, housing, and healthcare in Ladysmith.

The BC Road Show made a stop in Cedar, looking to get more young people interested in careers operating heavy equipment. The roadshow is a trailer that contains simulators for various pieces of heavy equipment. It visits schools in the province in an effort to promote pathways into the construction industry. Industry groups say there’s a shortage of labour in the construction right now. Midcoast Morning examines a local pathway into heavy equipment operation.

The community on Gabriola Island is mapping out how it will move through the next 25 years. Attempts to address Impacts from climate change, an aging population and a lack of diversity of housing options need to take into account environmental concerns specific to gulf islands. Gabriola is in the midst of the first major revision to its official community plan since 1997. Trustee Tobi Elliot spoke with Midcoast Morning about the planning process.

Incubators for the neo natal unit and a new laser used to treat prostate cancer, are among equipment purchases enabled by fundraising from the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation. The foundation announced this week it had exceeded its 1.5 million dollar goal for a recent fundraiser by over $600,000. CEO Barney Ellis-Perry spoke with Midcoast Morning about how funding for new hospital equipment purchases works, and urologist Dr. Will Carlson shared information on one of the new pieces of equipment.

The owners of a downtown Nanaimo staple are stepping into retirement after more than three decades in the Old City Quarter. Eric and Sandy McLean have announced the sale of McLean’s Specialty Foods to a quartet of local entrepreneurs. The shop, known for its selection of cheeses and specialty foods from around the world, opened in 1992. Eric McLean visited the CHLY studio to reflect on 33 years in business.

The province’s nurses union is flagging workplace safety concerns and staffing shortages as they get ready to head to the bargaining table later this year. The BC Nurses’ Union’s (BCNU) collective agreement with the Health Employer’s Association of BC is set to expire at the end of March. As the union gets ready to negotiate the next agreement, they’ve been having a series of regional bargaining conferences, including one in Nanaimo. Midcoast Morning spoke with Kelly Charters, BCNU rep for Nanaimo and the North Island, about the issues nurses are facing locally.

The Vancouver Island Symphony is bringing unfinished, unpublished, and underappreciated works to audiences in Nanaimo and Courtenay this weekend. The program will feature music from Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Charles Ives, and the late Vancouver composer Jocelyn Morlock. Midcoast Morning speaks with the symphony’s artistic director, and with composer John Korsrud, who was Morlock’s partner.

Upgrades to Nanaimo’s transit service have kicked in this week. This year will see 8700 more hours of service on Nanaimo routes. 5000 of those hours are on the newly renamed route 1 Nanaimo rapid line, which goes between the Woodgrove Centre and Downtown.  2700 new service hours are on an intercity route going from the Woodgrove Centre to Parksville and Qualicum Beach. The other 1000 new hours are part of a restructured route to Lantzville. Midcoast Morning explores the changes and the tentative plans for next year’s upgrades.

Exploring Nanaimo as a commercial real estate market, getting an update on the old A&B Sound building, and checking in on the BC assessment process.

The story of a 1985 anti logging protest on Haida Gwaii is coming to Nanaimo for a special screening The Stand from filmmaker Christopher Auchter draws from more than a hundred hours of archival footage of the protest on Lyell island, footage recorded while the events were still unfolding The documentary premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in September, and will be screening at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre this Sunday. CHLY and CVOX reporter Heather Watson spoke with the filmmaker behind The Stand.

A true crime story and a train disaster from the island’s past are being looked at through a new lens.  Historian Dave Flawse wonders whether Henry Wagner aka the flying dutchman deserved his date with the hangman’s noose, and author Kim Bannerman explored the commemoration of the Japanese victims of the Trent River train disaster of 1898. Both stories appeared in the book A Place Called Cumberland, released by the Cumberland Museum and Archives. Midcoast Morning previously brought you some info on that collection, but didn’t have time to delve all the way into the stories. 

At the start of the year Mick Sweetman was reporting for CHLY, he now finds himself as the Nanaimo reporter for The Discourse. Mick paid a visit to the CHLY studio to share some of the reporting that ‘s stuck with him from 2024.

The midtown water supply, pickleball courts, and land transfers to Snuneymuxw were some of the highlights Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog shared when he visited the CHLY studio to review 2024 at the municipal level. The Mayor aslo spoke about the provincial election, and the future of the public works yard project, and offered a Christmas message to listeners.

A Christmas classic is going to be transformed into a live radio play free for all to attend this Saturday night at VIU. The school’s Malaspina theatre will host a locally penned adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life, the 1946 film directed by Frank Capra starring Jimmy Stewart. Midcoast Morning spoke with some of those involved with bringing the production to life.

The Nanaimo Systems Planning Organization (SPO) exists to provide research, data, analysis, education and information related to the community's homelessness response. It began operating in April 2023. In part two of a conversation around the SPO’s work, its board chair, executive director, and research and mobilization lead discuss the role of non market housing, and landowners willing to offer spaces for its creation as a measure to address homelessness.